understanding organizations sung seek moon. defining terms organizations (daft, 1998)- organizations...
TRANSCRIPT
Understanding Organizations
Sung Seek Moon
Defining Terms Organizations (Daft, 1998)- “Organizations are social
entities that are goal directed, are designed as deliberately structured and coordinated activity systems, and are linked to the external environment” Social entities-organizations are made up of people Goal-directed-they exist for a specified purpose Deliberately structured and coordinated activity systems-activity
systems are clusters of work activities performed by designated units or departments within an organization
Linked to the external environment-an organization is in constant interaction with other systems in the social environment, including individuals, groups, other organizations, and communities
Social Services
Institutional: financial assistance, housing programs, or education provided by public organizations
Personal social services: target specific groups (such as children or the elderly) or particular problems (such as family planning or counseling)
Human services, social services, and sometimes, social welfare are often used interchangeably
Social agencies Organizations providing social services
Public: run by a designated unit of government and are usually regulated by laws that directly affect policy
Private: privately owned and run by people not employed by government
Nonprofit: run to accomplish some service provision goal, not to make financial profit for private owners. Funding for services can range from tax money to private donations to grants to service fees
Proprietary or for-profit: similar services as nonprofit, but a major purpose is to make money
Organizational Theories Systems Theory-emphasize how all parts of the
organization are interrelated and function together to produce output
Class Scientific Management Theories-emphasize that specifically designed, formal structure and a consistent, rigid organizational network of employees are most important for an organization to run well and achieve its goals (Traditional Bureaucracies)
Human Relations Theories-emphasize “the role of the informal, psychological components of organizational functioningTheory X and Theory Y (McGregor, 1960)
Theory X Managers view employees as incapable of much growth, and believe
they must control, direct, force, or threaten employees to make them work
Employees are perceived as inherently disliking work and having relatively little ambition
Inconsistent with what behavioral scientists assert are effective principles for directing, influencing, and motivating people
Theory Y Managers view employees as wanting to grow up and develop by
exerting physical and mental effort to accomplish work objectives Believe that the promise of internal rewards are stronger motivations
than external rewards and punishments Most employees are assumed to have considerable ingenuity,
creativity, and imagination Mistakes and errors are viewed as necessary to the learning process
Theory Z: developed by Ouchi (1981) based on five assumptions initiated in Japanese industry
Views workers as lifetime employees instead of people having a series of short-term jobs in different organizations over a career’s time. It emphasizes job security as a major component of employee satisfaction and, hence, motivation for productivity.
Presumes that employees undergo long periods of evaluation and are not promoted quickly
Assumes workers progress down career paths that aren’t specialized. Job descriptions are more flexible, and management views employees as capable of performing any job when they receive relevant training
Collective decision making-workers collectively address issues and arrive at some consensus regarding how to proceed. Such work groups are called teams, quality circles, or quality control circles.
Collective responsibility-it emphasizes the importance of all workers being responsible for the successful functioning of the organization
Cultural Perspective
Assumes that each organization develops a unique mixture of values, standards, presumptions, and practices about how things should be done that eventually becomes habitAdvantage: performance becomes predictable, thus
requiring less effort to develop new approaches
Disadvantage: may squelch innovative ideas with pressure to retain the old way of thought
Economic Perspective
Emphasizes that organizations proceed in whatever way necessary to maximize profits or outputsPoses difficulties for social workers who maintain
professional values and ethicsPlaces primary emphasis on profit and productivity
Contingency Perspective
Maintains that each element involved in an organization depends on other elements; therefore there is no one generally best way to accomplish tasks or goalsStrength: flexibilityPotential weakness: lack of direction
Social Agencies as Systems
A system is a set of orderly and interrelated elements that form a functional whole
Boundaries: the repeatedly occurring patterns that characterize the relationships within a system and give that system a particular identity, setting it apart from other systems
Subsystem: a secondary or subordinate system, a smaller system within a larger system
Homeostasis: the tendency for a system to maintain a relatively stable, constant state of balance
Role: a socially expected behavior pattern usually determined by an individual’s status in a particular society
Relationship: the mutual emotional exchange; dynamic interaction; and affective, cognitive, and behavioral connection that exists between tow or more persons or systems
Input: the energy, information, or communication flow received from other systems
Output: what happens to input after it has been processed by some system
Feedback: a special form of input. It involves a system receiving information about what it is doing correctly in order to maintain itself and thrive
Differentiation: s system’s tendency to move for a more simplified to a more complex existence
Entropy: the natural tendency of a system to progress toward disorganization, depletion, disintegration, and, in essence, chaos
Equifinality: there are many different means to the same end
The Nature of Organizations
Agency SettingsPredominately social work settingsHost settings
Organizational GoalsMultiple goalsGoal displacement and goal substitution
Goal displacement occurs when an organization continuous to function but no longer achieves the goals it’s supposed to
In social service organizations, it often means that the rules and following those rules become more important then providing service to clients (see Highlight 4.1)
Organizational Culture
The constellation of values, beliefs, assumptions, and expectations that underlie and organize the organization’s behavior as a group
Organizational Structure
Manner in which an organization divides its labor into specific tasks and achieves coordination among these tasksLines of authorityChannels of communication (formal/informal)Dimensions of power (see Highlight 4.2)
Working in a Bureaucracy
What words come to mind when you hear the term “Bureaucracy”?
Webster’s Dictionary: Orientation conflict between helping professionals
and bureaucracy (see Highlight 4.4) How to survive in a bureaucracy?